In the past, telecommunications companies that offered, for example, long distance telephone service had to file a document called a tariff with the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”). The tariff document described the rates, terms, and conditions of service associated with various services. Thus, rates, terms, and conditions of service were not conveyed to individual consumers because the tariff document was available for perusal by consumers. Recently, the FCC has “detariffed” certain telecommunications services and thus, telecommunications companies are not required to file tariff documents with the FCC in some cases. Instead, long distance companies must post rates, terms, and conditions of service on an Internet web page and at a specific place of business.
Prior to detariffing, a tariff document took precedence over any private contract. Thus, in essence, the tariff document was a contract between the telecommunications company and its consumers. After detariffing, telecommunications companies can enter into contracts with consumers without regard to a superseding tariff document.
Detariffing presents a potential problem with respect to telecommunications services in which the charges for the services are paid by a party that receives, rather than places, a call. For example, the party receiving a collect call pays the charges associated with the call. Typically, the party that places such a call utilizes a local exchange carrier, a calling card company, or a long distance telephone company with which the party has a relationship. However, the party receiving the call may have no relationship with the company that is utilized by the party placing the call. Thus, because there is no governing tariff document, the party receiving the call may not be aware of the rates, terms, and conditions of service associated with the call. Also, the company that is utilized by the party placing the call may have difficulty trying to collect the charges associated with the call from the party receiving the call because, arguably, the receiving party may assert that no contract was formed between the company and the receiving party.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,859,902 discloses a method for processing collect calls in which the party receiving a collect call is given information about the cost of the call.